Answers

You need to target seed stage investors who like to "follow." Your current investors act as validation for your idea and deal. Investment is a game of knocking on the right doors versus sales, which is just knocking on a lot of doors. Ask around your network for investors that have done similar deals in the past to what you are proposing. Connect with them and gauge their interest and what they'd be able to bring to the table. Keep up meetings and provide updates, getting them excited about what you're up to. Presenting at a game-centric Angel Forum is another avenue.

You literally have done the "hard" part, you have a lead investor. You've made it where 99% of venture-backed businesses don't. However, getting people to part with large sums of money still takes time, they need to trust you will do well with it. Keep talking to seed stage investors who have funded ideas like yours and you'll get there.

There's no magic number that automatically get's you "approval" for a Series A. Some questions to ask:

- How do I define my market and how big is it?
- Who are my customers and if a competitor did the exact same thing why would a customer choose me?
- How fast am I converting prospective customers to paying ones? If someone where to give me the capital I need tomorrow how many customers would I add?

These are the types of questions a Series A funder is looking for you to ansewer. They want to know "x" amount of capital will return roughly "y" for them as you've determined most of the major aspects of your business model (what you do, who your customer is/could be and how you make money). Feel free to call me if you'd like to walk through more of these questions for your company.

First off, sounds like a great product. I have a family member with diabetes and this is something they could have used years ago.

I worked with Tom Nagle who wrote the bible on b2b pricing and he taught me to always think about the immediate problem you're solving for your customer and what value that delivers.

In your case that could mean your app increases attendance at diabetes info sessions because patients are having more fun. Or decreases missed appointments (which had an easy to calculate cost) because that functionality is built into your fun app. You need to figure out what's the immediate pain your relieving for the healthcare provider and sell on that, not long-term potential cost savings.

Happy to brainstorm and share some
techniques on zeroing in on how you solve an immediate problem.

Hi there, I've worked for a VC firm running a consulting practice and advised pre-revenue startups on their fundraising. Sorry, as others have mentioned your business is unlikely to attract VC investment (service-based businesses are usually unattractive to VC's).

The first question I would ask is, if an investor were to give you all the capital you asked for, what would you do with it?

If it's for purchasing equipment, perhaps you could get favourable vendor financing. If it's hiring employees there could be a government granting program that you qualify for (I know this exists in Canada for hiring young employees).

An old boss used to say 'equity is like toothpaste, once it's out it's really hard to get back in.' So with any investor take a hard look at why you need the money in the first place and if there are non-dilutive options you can pursue first to accomplish the same goal.

Before you weigh the pros and cons of different platforms structures it's important to think about who your customers are and how you want the business to grow.

I help companies find their most profitable customers and have worked with pre-revenue to high-growth $70M+ companies in the SaaS, consumer products and professional service spaces. We usually start our work by aligning around what the vision for the company is asking questions like "Where do we want to be in 3 years? Why?"

From there we think about how customers will encounter and use the product, asking:

- "Is it a business where relationships and high company involvement is needed after a sale is made?" A centralised business model is a good fit (more quality control).
- "Are we a service based business seeking to minimize risk while expanding?" Then a franchise model is better.

A business model/structure tumbles out having clear answers to these questions. One business structure is not inherently better than another. You're just picking the structure that best facilitates your business goals. Don't hesitate to contact me if you'd like to discuss your potential business model in more detail.

Depending on average transaction size, number of transactions and the potential risks you are taking on (i.e what are you responsible for if your friends product or service isn't delivered on?). Anywhere from 2-20% could work depending on the above.

As for accounting, I would recommend keeping the transactions in a separately coded lines of revenue and expenses so you can clearly show the in and out flow of money for his app. It will be taxed as income so you can include that in your fee if you wish.

Also know that banks these days are very sophisticated with detecting fraud and money laundering so ensure you document the arrangement with your friend so you can easily show everything is on the up and up.

I run an online marketing agency for socially conscious retailers. We do conversion rate optimization, email marketing, SEO and PPC. We have 25ish employees and our clients represent $700M+ in revenue.

Generally no, VC's don't consider digital/creative agencies to be in their purview. The multiples for service-based companies like agencies are quite low (usually between book value to 1.5x) so it doesn't fit their investment model.

In my career I've met one guy who invests in agencies/consultancies. And that's because he's built and scaled several and sold them to Big 4 firms.

However, if you have a product with traction that solves a real problem for your clients you'd have the ear of an investor. That's how Hootsuite started.

I help b2b companies in finding their most profitable customers and have worked with several companies creating marketplace business models. If I was in your shoes I'd:

- Sell, sell, sell. Even if you're manually connecting buyers with sellers at first. Ensure what you're offering is a genuine need. People hate change (not a bad thing) so you have to offer them something that is leagues ahead of what they already use. Meaning it's a lot faster, cheaper, easier and funner then what they already do. Talking to potential customers is the easiest way I've found of figuring out where the pain/problem is and how you can address it.
- Ensure your market is specific, but big enough. Who are your customers and how many of them are there? At first you need to target a segment of the yacht/boating industry, own it and get people raving about you. Then you can move into bigger/adjacent categories. This proves traction and revenue and shows investors where you can grow into.

Feel free to call me if you'd like some more specific advice for your situation and stage of growth.

I've built and scaled 3 management consulting businesses to $1M+ in the past 5 years. I'm a little unsure as to what your problem is. Are you wanting to help designers with their business or are you trying to hire talented designers to complete some work?

For really good designers, their desire is to do quality work, with clients they like and be compensated well for it. If you have a proven methodology or process that helps them get those types of clients you'll be off the races.

But, you have to communicate clearly the specific problem you address for them. So if they are a landscape designers you can say "With my program and coaching we will get you in front of architects and seen as the go-to expert who does awesome work." Does that make sense?

I help B2B companies find their most profitable customers. This a tough spot with no cut and dry answers. I would ask the following:

- There's a lot of things I could do, why did I choose to do this? Think of this as a gut-check to gauge whether you want to push through or not.
- Define 'no traction' with customers. What was the reason they originally bought from you? What problem are you solving for them today? You can find this out by calling and asking.
- Can I be cashflow positive just providing them what is of value?

If you're getting positive answers to each of these questions, keep going. Not every products needs, or can have, a hockey stick-like growth chart with customers.

Finally, I would pretend the $150k investment didn't exist and I still had the customers and product I have today. What would I do with the product? The more you invest in something (emotionally and financially) that harder it becomes to abandon it. This is known as the 'sunk cost fallacy.' Stepping away from it can provide much needed prospective.

Feel free to give me a call if you'd like to chat more about your specific situation.

Aaron was a ton of help and had no trouble jumping in and discussing the details in a 30 minute call. He is savvy, knowledgeable and up front with his advice and ideas. Looking forward to speaking with him again!